Britain must establish a diplomatic presence in Iran to capitalise on a potential deal on the the country’s nuclear programme or lose out on global race to trade with Tehran, an influential Commons committee has said.

In a wide-ranging report on British policy towards the oil rich state, MPs said the Foreign Office must trust that President Hassan Rouhani, who took office last year, is a genuine reformist determined to transform the country’s relationship with the West.

Policymakers must now anticipate that a deal to remove sanctions on Iran would be based on a compromise that allowed limited enrichment of uranium despite UN resolutions that banned Iran’s nuclear programme.
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The MPs warned that Britain was in danger of being left behind in efforts to rebuild the trade relationship as businessmen from other nations rushed to Tehran.
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It said diplomats should accept a pact to allow “mutually defined enrichment of uranium if the breakout period for a bomb is pushed to six months or more.
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The MPs said a range of options should be set out for Britain to win friends and allies in Tehran. It said the Foreign Office must be ready to acknowledge the role played by the predecessors in deposing the elected Iranian prime minister in 1953.

As the clock runs out on negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, a new study of the American public finds that 61 percent favor making a deal with Iran that would limit Iran’s enrichment capacity and impose additional intrusive inspections in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions. This includes 62 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of independents.
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The deal that was backed by a majority specified that Iran could enrich uranium to the level necessary for nuclear energy, provided that it accepts intrusive inspections to ensure that Iran is not building nuclear weapons. Some sanctions would then be gradually removed, provided that Iran upholds the agreement.
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The study also finds that 61 percent favor working together with Iran to deal with the situation in Iraq. More than seven in ten also favor various confidence-building measures, such as more cultural exchanges and sporting events, as well as more extensive government-to-government talks on issues of mutual concern.

“While there are no easy or definitive answers to the dispute about Iran’s nuclear program, most Americans clearly favor diplomatic engagement and cooperation over the alternatives,” said Nancy Gallagher, research director at CISSM. “Majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and independents all think that compromise makes more sense than yet another round of sanctions.”

U.S. sanctions against Iran don’t just hurt the Islamic Republic, they also have an impact on the U.S. economy—to the tune of as much as $175.3 billion since 1995, according to a new study.
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The report found the U.S. had lost between $134.7 and 175 billion in potential export revenue since 1995, after examining decades of bilateral trade patterns between Iran and its 25 largest trading partners, plus Mexico, due to its high level of trade with the U.S.
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The report also finds an average of between 51,000 and 66,000 lost job opportunities in the U.S. every year since 1995.
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Among European nations, Germany was the biggest potential loser, with between $23.1 and $73 billion in missed economic opportunities.

Posted on July 13, 2014

by Jerry Alatalo

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has said, with regard to his government’s assertion that Hamas carried out the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, that, “we know Hamas did it.” Mr. Netanyahu, the world must see the evidence.

Hamas denies any responsibility for the kidnap and murder of the three Israeli teens. What would Hamas gain by carrying out the crimes Israel accuses them of? Let’s say that Hamas kidnapped the teens to hold them for a ransom of release of a number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. Why would they kill the teens and lose their bargaining position? These are questions having to do with conjectures, but according to Israeli officials, they “know Hamas did it”, so where is the information which led to that certainty?

Why is it important that Israel show the world their proof? Because Israel is…